The Royal College of Physicians’ Fallsafe care bundles applied trustwide: the Northumbria experience 2013

The Royal College of Physicians’ FallSafe care bundles constitute measures of good practice, some of which are recommended for all patients, some are additional measures for older and more vulnerable patients admitted to hospital, and there is another bundle for after an inpatient fall, to reduce the number of inpatient falls. In 2013 a dedicated healthcare assistant, trained by the falls team, started a monthly spot audit looking at preventative measures, on all inpatients on every ward of the trust. Monthly results were fed back to the ward managers, ward falls liaison nurses, doctors, therapists and pharmacy staff on each ward, to discuss at the monthly ward governance meetings. Training and advice on specific aspects of falls prevention were provided by falls nurse practitioners. In total, 9,679 patient episodes were recorded over the year. Compliance with the measures recommended by the FallSafe care bundles has improved following regular spot audit and training. This has led to an overall reduction in the number of inpatient falls. Despite this however, in the real world of changing patient demographics, ward closures and the increasing use of ambulatory care, the number of falls/1,000 bed days has increased.